Review by Booklist Review
If you are looking for lighthearted, joyous, and youthful poems about childhood, this is the perfect selection for your bookshelves. Kids will love the illustrator's use of color to create happy images of diverse children participating in an array of activities and sports. The poems are themed around sports such as ice-skating, skiing, tennis, and baseball to name a few, but recess and recreational play are also well represented, with four square, cartwheel lessons, mini golf, and kite flying among the offerings. Positivity and ability are demonstrated in every poem. For instance, in "Last Pick for Kickball," a girl channels her frustration into a powerful kick that lets her "score the way / I knew I could." A girl using a wheelchair befriends a new classmate in "Clapping Hands," which says, "My legs can't run at recess, / but my hands can clap rhymes / my abuela taught me and reach / the new girl from Guatemala." The relatable content and encouraging messaging pair with solid examples of narrative poetry, making this a worthwhile collection.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Get moving in whatever activity brings satisfaction and joy. Jules presents a plethora of possibilities as the theme of children at play provides the structure for a collection of poems that encourage and applaud. Most of the verses are narrated in the first person, describing feelings of hope, patience, determination, frustration, pride, or glorious victory in games played singly, in pairs, or on teams. A batter ignores previous failures and concentrates on the next pitch while a fielder is so in the moment watching a ball that the outfield fence looms behind with the danger of a crash. A new friendship is formed with a clapping game, and a pair of tennis players waits endlessly for court time. Family relationships are forged and changed while engaging in hiking or miniature golf or riding scooters. Feelings of disappointment and hurt are overcome, and goals are set or achieved. Jules does not employ rhymes or obvious rhythm, but each poem flows easily as a brief vignette that captures just the right sentiment and spirit. The poems never indicate the gender or ethnicity of their narrators; that is left to Deppe's bright, appealing illustrations. Here readers see nonstereotypical depictions of girls and boys of many different racial presentations. One of the children playing the clapping game is in a wheelchair. Fun and games, with something deeper to think about. (Picture book/poetry. 6-10) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
